


Scars Bleed Gold

by LesbianKJ



Series: The Future of the Poisoned Youth [1]
Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Original Work
Genre: Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Retelling, The Titanomachy (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Training
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25948138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesbianKJ/pseuds/LesbianKJ
Summary: They always thought that the abyss that became their home would be all they ever knew. Never in their wildest dreams, they thought they would be free. And now with this freedom comes a cost: a war that would be talked about millenniums to come. A war that decided their fate and the world's.
Series: The Future of the Poisoned Youth [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883278
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**_In The Beginning_ **

In the beginning, the only thing that they knew was pain and darkness. The comfort of each other was never enough, though they certainly tried. There were no days or nights, nothing to indicate time had passed, and Hestia’s fire was too weak to see the appearance of each other or themselves. They grew up in a limbo of despair and agony, wondering if there would ever be anything outside of this hopeless life. 

Little did they know how soon their prayers would be answered. 

Their lifetime of nothingness shifted once. It had startled the siblings into silence, in disbelief of such sudden movement. Had they imagined it? As quickly as the first one happened, there was a second jolt, and then another, shaking the siblings about, not giving any of them time to hold on to anything. They hurtled out of their space of darkness, soaring out of what had been their prison, transported to a world that they could only dream about. 

The land was not pleasant, each one falling on top of the other, their breaths taking away from them as the impact registered through their bodies. 

Everything was too loud and bright. None of the siblings could stand or move for that matter, and it quickly became apparent to their savior. There were shouts and noise of the conflict, and each sibling was picked up by arms and carried off. 

“ _ Go to Gaia's Garden, I’ll hold them off!” _

_ “Kratos-” _

_ “I’ll stay with him, go!” _

The journey was far and disorienting but none of the siblings spoke or asked any questions. And they reached what they assume to be Gaea’s Garden. Unlike their journey to this place, they were placed gently and carefully onto soft material. They marveled at the fabric, running their hands along it. 

_ “Where is Theia? I don’t think they can see.” _

A scoff in the distance. “ _ Of course they can’t Zeus.” _

A hand pressed lightly against the shoulder of Hestia, causing her to jerk away from it. 

_ “It’s okay, you and your siblings are safe. We saved you from Cronus, you’re safe for now.” _

For now, it didn't sound reassuring in the ears of the Oldest yet the Youngest but for her siblings, she held a strong front. 

“Thank you.” 

_ “Stay here, Theia will be back and she’ll return your eyesight to you.” _

The wait was unbearable especially when they weren’t close to each other for comfort. 

“How did they even know where we were?” Hera asked. 

Her voice, almost too quiet to hear but they were accustomed to each other’s voices and heard her clearly. 

“I don’t know,” Hestia said. “We must wait for this Theia.”

“How long?” Hera asked, “I’m cold.”

And though Hestia could not see, she certainly did her best to reach for her younger sister. She felt around the fabric, feeling how it caved under the weight of her siblings. 

“Reach out your hand,” Hestia said.

Somehow, Hestia knew where to reach out to, and brushed fingertips with Hera. She leaned forward so she could fully grab onto her sister’s hand. She allowed her hand to heat up, to give Hera the warmth that she needed. 

They waited for what seemed like ages but they were used to it by now. 

The siblings stirred when they heard a conversation become clear with the footsteps that followed. 

_ “I’m sorry that I took so long,”  _ a new voice said.  _ “Cronus wanted to talk to us about the event that happened.” _

_ “He doesn’t suspect anybody’s involvement does he?”  _ Another new voice. 

_ “None but he wants Zeus’s head on a platter.” _

Hera’s hand tightened around Hestia’s, and she tried her best to soothe the girl. The conversation had died out, and Hestia couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable about the situation. She couldn’t see, couldn’t fight, couldn’t protect her siblings in any way from the new strangers that entered the space that they were in. 

_ “Dear Gaea, my babies.” _

_ “It’s alright Rhea, they’re here and safe.” _

_ “The years. . .”  _

The name Rhea was a distant memory, another lifetime but it did set Hestia at ease. 

_ “Hello children, I am Theia.”  _ The voice said.  _ “I’m going to kneel beside Hades and-” _

“No,” Hestia said, she winced at how firm and loud her voice was at this. “No, start with me first.”

Silence and Hestia wondered if she pushed too hard or soon. Still, she wouldn’t back down from this stance, her siblings looked up to  _ her  _ and she would make sure that they could trust these two beings. After all they spoke of Cronus, who knew whether this was a trick or not? She was the only one with developed powers and if she had to set this place on fire to protect them, so be it. 

_ “Of course. I'm going to place my hands on your face, and you’re going to feel a tingle.” _

Hestia nodded and braced herself for slightly cold hands to be placed on her cheeks. A warm, tingling sensation washed over her and she blinked, once, twice, and the world of darkness slowly faded away. At first, everything was blurry and with each blink, helped clear her sight. She found herself staring at a woman with blue eyes, her dark brown hair pulled up, a few curls escaping the hold of it. She looked kind but looks could be deceiving and yet, Hestia could see. Still, she didn’t trust the woman in front of her, even though she smiled. 

“Would it be okay if I did your siblings?” Theia asked. 

Hestia hesitated before nodding. She turned and saw her siblings for the first time. Theia moved to Hera, who was still holding on to her hand. Hera’s hair was dark brown and passed her back, reaching the soles of her feet, she had freckles that seemed to cover her entire body, her eyes were a faded green. Theia spoke to her quietly and Hera nodded hesitatingly. Theia repeated her process and Hestia watched as Hera’s eyes lost its fade, foggy look to something more clear. She turned to Hestia, her eyes wide.

“Hestia?” 

Hestia nodded, and Hera fell into her arms. Hestia couldn’t help but laugh, as Hera touched her face amazed by what she was seeing. Theia moved on to Demeter, her sister's hair brown streak with blonde, her eyes a blue hazel color. Hades black hair with dark brown eyes, his nose crooked. And Poseidon had black hair like Hades and seemed to match Hera almost uncannily, both with green eyes and freckled bodies. And with all their eyesight restored, they turned to the second person in the room. Hestia was startled to tears in the woman’s eyes as she stared at them. 

“She looks like you, Hestia,” Hera murmured in her ear. 

Hestia looked at the other woman carefully. She had curly red hair that stopped at her shoulders, her eyes a light brown, a dust of freckles across her nose. She remembered Theia saying that her name was Rhea, and given how much she looked like her according to Hera, and what she heard. . .this had to be their mother. 

Rhea was slow to walk to them, as if she couldn’t fully believe her eyes that they were there. She dropped to her knees and reached out for them. Hera jerked away, hiding away from Rhea, and Hestia saw the flit of hurt cross her mother’s face. Rhea smiled through it though, sitting back on her heels, staring at her children. 

“It’s me, your mother,” Rhea said quietly. “I don’t expect you to remember me, you were only just born before he took you. Only five minutes old-”

Her voice cut off as a sob escaped her throat. Theia was quick to rush to her sister’s side and hug her, Hestia’s heart ached for her mother. How terrible it must have been not to even have any of her children for more than five minutes and to be taken away so cruelly. How long have they sat in the darkness and pain, that they thought would become their permanent home before Rhea could find somebody to recuse them?

“My babies,  _ my children _ ,” Rhea said. “Already so grown, and yet. . .”

She trailed off before she cleared her throat. “There’s much to be done, do you know how to stand? To walk?”

Hestia glanced at her siblings before turning to her mother and shook her head. Rhea and Theia glanced at each other and then back to them. Rhea rose from her spot on the floor and offered her hands to Hestia. Hestia released Hera’s hand, for their mother’s and the older deity pulled her up. The movement almost caused her to collapse back to the floor but Rhea was quick to steady her. 

“I got you,” Rhea said. “And I won’t let any of you down again.”


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Catch** _

Time was still a foreign concept to them but Demeter was sure that the time it took them to walk was too long. Still, she understood why it was a thing that they needed to learn. Their legs were weak from not being used, and the only ones to catch on quickly was Hestia and Hades. And of course, they did, for years the two stood in the acid of their father’s stomach so that they didn’t have to suffer. Still, she was annoyed with herself for taking longer than the others. Poseidon got it quickly after Hestia and Hades, and though Hera struggled as she did, Poseidon wouldn’t let her go until she got it herself. And maybe she would have gotten it quicker if she had allowed somebody to help her but she refused it multiple times. Walking was as easy as breathing and she would learn. 

Rhea allowed Demeter to learn it herself, and the look that her mother was giving her, was sad. Demeter wondered if she was imagining how it would’ve been Cronus didn’t swallow them. How they would’ve been raised, a million what-ifs that would never be. 

Rhea and Theia then sent them to bathe and soon after they clothed them. Afterward, Rhea personally did each of their hair. She only combed Demeter and Hestia’s hairs and pulled Hera’s hair up into a do because it was so long. No matter what Rhea did Poseidon’s hair, his hair wouldn’t maintain any of the work that she did. With Hades, she pulled the sides into a bun to keep it from falling in his eyes. 

Even though Rhea had mentioned that there were things that needed to be done, she seemed very hesitant to part with them. The words of the person that saved them came back to Demeter: _you’re safe for now_. And she wondered what awaited them. 

Poseidon was in the middle of trying to ruin Hera’s hair when Demeter noticed that Theia had returned and was whispering in Rhea’s ear. Demeter nudged Hestia and discretely as she could point towards them, Hestia turned to the duo and frowned. 

The time away from their father had been a short time compared to how long they have been there. Were they better off there than here? Rhea looked up and made eye contact with Hestia. Demeter glanced over at her sister, waiting on what to do. There were five of them and two of them, Rhea seemed like the emotional type and they could escape without having to really fight. Where they would go was a mystery but far away from this was better than being forced into it. 

Hestia shook her head, pressing a hand onto Demeter’s and Rhea seemed relieved by Hestia’s decision.

“Come,” Rhea said, “There are some people that want to meet you.”

Hera ducked under Poseidon’s arm, hooked her arm with Hades before she went to grab Poseidon’s hand.

“Okay!” Hera said. “Right, Hestia? It’s okay?”

“Of course it is,” Hestia said, standing. “Come, Demeter, let’s meet these people.”

Demeter bit her lip as she stared at Hestia’s hand. She still thought their best bet was to flee but if Hestia said it was fine, who was she to contest that? She accepted it and they followed Rhea outside of the room, they were in. 

Demeter was captivated by the outside but forced herself to stay focused and aware of everything. There was time to get lost into nature later when their lives weren’t being unclear. 

Despite her lack of knowledge of most things, it wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure out that where they were standing was Gaea’s Garden, whoever that was. Rhea pushed through a veil of vines, that led to a smaller opening where four beings sitting amongst themselves talking. Their voices were too low to hear and in the end, it didn’t matter, as one of them noticed their presence. He stood a smile already wide on his face. 

Demeter had to grudgingly admit that he was good to look at but she didn’t trust any of them, so discarded the thought. He had shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes and seemed a little too eager for somebody that just saved them. Rhea held her hand up to stop him from speaking probably and turned to face Demeter and her siblings. 

“They're the ones that saved you today,” She said. 

Rhea waved the only woman over to them, and she only took a few steps forward to separate herself from the boys. She was about Demeter’s height, though shorter than Poseidon. The right side of her face, she had a scar that started at her forehead and streak over her eye and it curled just below her cheek. She had a similar scar on her bicep that worked its way to her elbow. And speaking of her arms, they were very toned but defined in muscles like the two boys behind her but it was obvious that she was probably just as strong as the guys behind her. Her hair was long and dark brown. 

“This is Bia,” Rhea said. 

Bia stared at them silently before giving them a firm nod. Demeter couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows at this, why was the other woman so serious? 

“Zelus, come forth,” Rhea said.

“Of course, Your Highness.” He said beaming. 

He was also blond but his hair was much longer, it probably rivaled the length of Hera’s. The front half of his hair swept back, his eyes gold. He had two sets of wings, a pair on his upper back, and another pair on his lower back. Somehow he was able to place them neatly behind his back without any discomfort. 

Zelus stared at them curiously but said nothing to them. 

“And this is Kratos.”

The mystery blond boy did not step forward but instead the black hair boy. His hair was shaved on the sides and he had unruly hair on the top. He had a black cloth wrapped around his head. He seemed even more serious than Bia, the way he had his arms folded, his dark brown eyes looking over them. 

Not that Demeter really cared about these three. She noticed that she passed over the one that was really excited about meeting them.

“And who is he?” Demeter asked. 

She gestured to the boy behind the trio, turning to her mother with a raised eyebrow. 

“They don’t care about us, not really. Not like him, why?”

When Rhea hesitated, Demeter rolled her eyes and turned to face him. 

“You, what is your name?”

He stared at her with wide eyes, and he glanced at Rhea unsure of what to say. He probably wasn’t used to people talking to him like this but Demeter didn’t care about all of that, she asked a question.

“Well?”

“Demeter-” Hestia started.

“It’s Zeus.” He blurted, stopping Hestia from reprimanding Demeter.

“And who are you?” Demeter asked. “Who are you to us?”

A longer hesitation and Demeter was beginning to feel irritated. She narrowed her eyes at Zeus and took a step forward. Almost instantly, the trio before them was quick to form a miniature circle that caused Demeter to raise her eyebrows. 

“Is that really necessary?” She asked. “I asked a question and I expected it to be answered, I say that’s fair.”

More silence. 

Fine if they wanted to be that way.

“Don’t you find it weird that they made this whole show of us meeting our “saviors” but are very hesitant to introduce Zeus?” Demeter asked her siblings. “Sorry, mother, that doesn’t make me trust anybody here, especially when everybody has been whispering since we got here.”

Zeus and Rhea had the decency to look apologetic while the trio back down from their stance. 

Rhea sighed nodding.

“You’re right, the last thing I need to do is keep secrets from you,” Rhea said, taking a deep breath. “This is Zeus, your brother.”

“Brother?” Hera repeated.

They all turned to face him, and he shifted uncomfortably at the attention. 

“I don’t remember him,” Poseidon said. 

“Of course you don’t.” Demeter hissed, it all clicking to her. “She saved _him_.” 

The silence that followed was filled with the feelings of stun and hurt. 

“Why?” Hades asked. 

His voice was low and rough. Hades rarely ever talked and when he did, it meant what he had to say was very important. His question was what they all wanted to know. What was so special and different about him, that Rhea felt was worth saving him but not the rest of them? 

Rhea didn’t have an answer for such a simple and loaded question but Demeter was passed, feeling sympathetic towards the older woman. 

“You knew, you knew what he was doing, and you allowed it to happen _five times_ ,” Demeter said. “You didn’t try to stop it after the second time, the third or the fourth. You seriously couldn’t have been hoping for a change in behavior. What was it about the sixth time that made you snapped? What was so different about him that you knew you just _had_ to save him?”

Demeter turned back to Zeus, who looked like he wanted to flee the situation, and she looked him up and down before turning to look at her siblings. 

“Was it the blonde hair? The blue eyes? Fair skin?” Demeter demanded. “So unlike you or us, that you just felt the need to protect him?”

“I-”

“Do you even truly have a real explanation other than apologies and tears?” Demeter demanded. 

“Demeter-”

Hestia tried again, pressing a hand on her shoulder but Demeter shook it away. The sight of her mother crying and upset was severely pissing her off. While Hestia tried to defuse the situation, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon looked on with hurt wondering eyes. Demeter couldn’t help but wonder where their anger was in all of this? Damnit, she just basically admitted that she chose to save Zeus but leave them to suffer a terrible fate of living in the dark of Cronus's stomach. 

Hestia wanted to find a peaceful solution, to talk through things, and allow Rhea time to explain herself. But if Zeus was freed, trained to one day save them all, she had years to come up with the explanation. Instead, all Rhea could give them were tears. Tears for what, Demeter wondered. She didn’t suffer the way that they did, they should be the ones crying, not the other way around. 

“You speak on things that you don’t know, Demeter.” Theia started. “Put in her place, who knows what you would’ve done-”

“I know I would try better than what she did for the five of us.” Demeter cut in. “And _you_ speak on things that you don’t know. Have you ever been eaten by your father, Theia? Have you ever wallowed in pain and misery, wondering when it would end? Have acid burn the soles of your feet and ankles, your arm and neck for days and nights at a time? Been in the darkness that is endless and merciless, that robs you of your sight and robs you of hope. Do you Theia?”

Theia seemed to falter in her words, unsure of how to continue. 

Good, let her sit on that and process it. Let them all process the pain of the childhood that they had to endure. 

More silence followed and Hestia used that moment to rub circles on Demeter’s back, whispering to her words of comfort and for her to at least calm down. There were more things to discuss, something even bigger than what happened to them in the past, and for that, they should at least hear out what it was. After all, that was the biggest thing they were skating around. A woman’s regret about how she failed her children could be addressed later. 

“We’re important to you,” Hades murmured. “Or else you wouldn’t have saved us.”

His words left a pained expression on her mother’s face but once again, the sympathy for her was lost to Demeter. 

“Yes,” Zeus said.

He seemed relieved to go to a territory that he knew. That he probably practiced for.

“In return for saving you from our father, I wish for you to be my allies.”

“Allies?” Hera repeated. “For what?”

“For a war against our father,” Zeus said.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Fragile Bonds_ **

Hades was always known to keep quiet, to observe. It helped him keep sane in the years that lived in Cronus’s stomach. He noticed from a young age that shadows and darkness spoke to him, bent at his will, developed at a fast pace the longer he lived. He only confined to Hera about these things, allowed her to see the things that he could do. In return, he listened to her talk about her dreams, how violent they got.

_ “Does that make me bad?”  _ She whispered as she stroked his hair, on those rare moments of peace. 

_ “I don’t think so,”  _ He said.  _ “I think every one of us has powers that are waiting for us to tap into. Hestia is fire, mine is darkness, Demeter and Poseidon could be anything, and you. . .well, there could be good in violence.” _

Hera snorted.  _ “Good in violence, I guess we’ll just have to see.” _

That conversation so long ago, or perhaps not. Time wasn’t something that Hades could quite register. But he did know that right now, in the present, there was a lot to digest. From Zeus's statement to the reaction to those around him. 

Everybody was looking at him and his siblings expectantly as if they had no choice but to say yes. And maybe that was the case, everything else was decided without their input, what was one more thing?

“So soon after rescuing us?” Hades asked. “We know nothing of war and fighting. Just before coming here, we were learning how to see and walk for the first time. We would be useless to you now.”

Zeus deflated at this as if it never occurred to him before perking up just as quickly.

“I can train you, and we can discover your powers together.”

“That requires time-” Bia started.

“And it’s time that we can afford,” Zeus cut in. “This is Gaea’s sanctuary, Cronus won’t be able to get in.” 

Zeus smirked, a childish gleam in his eye.

“Let him sweat a bit.” 

The trio glanced at each other as if they wanted to argue and push the issue of time but seemed to decide against it. Hades wondered what made Zeus so special, to be the only one saved, to have the final say. 

“Even if you trained us, help us harness our powers, what makes you think we would agree to help you fight this war?” Demeter asked.

“Don’t you want to get revenge?” Zeus asked. “You spent your childhood in darkness and agony. He should pay for that.”

“Yeah, well our mother let it happen.” Demeter shot back.

The glare that Demeter shot her mother was enough for the older immortal to flinch. Theia could only look on with a frown but after Demeter snapped at her, she didn’t open her mouth to say anything else.

“Uh.” Zeus’s golden brows knitted together as he scrambled to think of something.

“You don’t want to live in fear for all of eternity do you?” Zelus spoke up. 

“What do you mean?”

Demeter turned to the winged boy, her eyebrow raised, with her arms folded. 

“You may have escaped Cronus’s stomach but you haven’t escaped  _ him _ . This is the only place you will be truly safe but it’s just another prison. More comfortable and beautiful than the one you were in but a prison nonetheless.” Zelus explained. “You want to live life but that isn’t how it should be lived.”

Demeter deflated slightly before looking over to Hestia. Hades couldn’t help but glad that fate decided him to be secondborn rather than first. They hadn’t been here long and already Hestia had to make two big decisions for them. The space grew silent as Hestia contemplated the situation. 

“He has a point, Demeter-”

The other girl let out a groan but it trailed off into nothing with one stern look from Hestia. Demeter looked down and Hestia turned to Zeus. 

“We’ll help you with this war,” Hestia said. “As Zelus said, a life of fear is not the one that I want to live or to wish on anyone.”

Zeus nodded, shooting a graceful look to Zelus. 

“I think we should start immediately,” Zeus said. 

“Well, I have one condition,” Demeter said. “I’m not training with them around.”

Demeter gestured to Rhea and Theia. The women’s reactions were hurt and outrageous respectively but Demeter didn’t even bat an eye. Zeus seemed put off by Demeter’s hostility but how could he understand that her anger was what they were all feeling? Maybe Hades wouldn’t be so cruel with it the way Demeter was being, but he wouldn’t be as kind as Hestia was being either. 

“Deal,” Zeus said. 

“We’ll leave you to it,” Rhea said.

She touched her sister’s arm and led her away from the space. That left them with Zeus and his protectors, the silence left things a bit awkward something that Kratos tried to hastily fix.

“Okay, let’s start with the bases,” Kratos said. “Do any of you have powers?”

“I do,” Hestia said. “I can start a fire and warm things but that’s as much as I could do with my powers.”

“That’s good, it’s a start,” Kratos said nodding. “Anybody else?”

Hades was content to keep quiet, keeping his powers secret for a little longer but Hera nudged him. He looked down at her, and she was staring at him with wide eyes until he felt something relent in him. His neck felt warm as he looked away from her green eyes. 

“I can. . .” Hades trailed off. 

The intensity of the other’s eyes was enough to stop him from talking. He was beginning to doubt telling them anything at all, they seemed too hungry about the whole thing. But Hera reached down and gave his hand a squeeze. 

“I can control the darkness and shadows,” He continued. “They speak to me, I don’t know what all I can do with them though.”

“Really?” Bia said, staring at him curiously. 

He nodded, finding the words hard to continue but it didn’t matter anyway because they moved on.

“Anybody else?” 

“Nope,” Hera said. 

Poseidon shook his head and Demeter muttered no. Kratos nodded thoughtfully, looking at them with careful eyes.

“You’re not going to like this but. . .we’ll need to separate you.”

“No,” Demeter said. “I wouldn’t leave any of my siblings with any of you.”

“And what could you possibly do to us?” Bia asked, leaning forward. 

Demeter glared up at the other immortal but before she could open her mouth, Hestia was between them.

“Back away from my sister,” Hestia said quietly.

She had a hand pressed against Bia’s arm and the goddess was quick to pull her arm away. She stared at Hestia with a look of impressed shock. 

“You burned me.”

“I’ll do worse  _ if you don’t back up _ .”

“We’re getting off the wrong foot!” Zelus said, laughing unease. “Listen, we’re only separating you guys so that you can develop your powers and learn. Hestia and Hades are further developed and have specialized powers that we can send them to. Hestia would work well with Helios and Hades with our parents, Nyx and Erebus.”

“Who are they?” Hera asked.

“We forget that you know so little,” Kratos said, shaking his head. 

“For now we’ll keep this simple,” Bia said. “We are a little pressed on time. Helios is Titan of the Sun, and would be better suited for Hestia’s powers whereas our parents, primordials of darkness and night, will be able to help Hades.”

“Primordials?”

“Beings older than the Titans,” Kratos said. “We’ll tell you more about everything but it’s very critical that we at least get started on your training.”

Surprisingly, it was not Hestia that spoke up but rather Demeter. 

“Fine,” she said, rubbing her brow. “But me, Hera, and Poseidon are going with Zelus, he has yet to anger me.”

Zelus beamed at this as Zeus stared at her incredulously. 

“I didn’t even say anything wrong.”

“You existed.” 

Poseidon snorted at this and Hera slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from giggling. Hades had to admit with Demeter’s deadpan tone and bored stare, it was a bit funny. Even Bia and Kratos cracked a smile. Zeus fumed at this but they didn’t sit on it much longer as Kratos said, there was much to be done. 


	4. Chapter 4

**_Prometheus_ **

Hera was reluctant to leave Hades and Hestia’s sides, but with a lot of coaxing from Poseidon and reassurance from Hestia, she found herself leaving them behind. 

“Don’t worry, Hera,” Poseidon said, nudging her. “We’ll be back with them in no time, and I’m way better than them anyway.”

“Yeah,” Demeter said. “Hades is too quiet and Hestia. . .is Hestia.”

“Hades talks, he isn’t too quiet,” Hera muttered. “And there’s nothing wrong with Hestia.”

“I wasn’t- urgh, come on Hera, cheer up. It’s just going to be a little while.” 

A while felt like a long time but Hera didn’t have time to dwell on it, as Poseidon reached over to ruffle her hair.

“I wish you would stop that,” Hera said. “I had to sit for a long time for this.”

Poseidon shrugged. “It’s better down.”

“Thanks, I didn’t ask.”

Zelus snorted. “You remind me of my siblings. You seem so cozy and close back there.”

“We have our moments,” Demeter relented. “But don’t doubt our connection for a minute.”

Zelus threw up his hands. “I didn’t mean anything about it, are you always this hostile?”

“Not every day you get thrown up by your father and find out that your mother only saved one of you.”

Zelus paused, and Hera couldn’t help but wince at Demeter’s words. She never saw Demeter so angry, feisty yes, but mean like this was such a rarity. Still, she had it a point, it hurt to see that Zeus was the one to be saved while they suffered. Demeter was hurt, was all, but she would have to sort through her feelings later. Right now, Hera hoped that Demeter didn’t explode with anger. She was already tipping towards it though.

“Where are we going anyway?”

“To Prometheus’s home,” Zelus said. “He’s a creator and a good starting point.”

Behind Zelus’s back, the trio shared a look with one another, definitely curious. They sunk into a silence that Hera didn’t mind, sometimes they had days and nights like that. Just silence as they were near each other in the darkness. Not every moment needed to be filled with noise, just the company was enough. 

“We’re here!” Zelus exclaimed. “Come, before we’re seen.”

He jogged up the stairs, and they followed behind him as quickly as they could. Hera still wasn’t confident with moving her legs, let alone running, so she gripped Poseidon’s arm. Zelus rapt his knuckles against the wood before pushing the door open, ushering the trio inside.

The room was cluttered but not dirty, it smelled of wood and fire. Zelus walked deeper into the place as he owned it but Hera had a feeling that he didn’t.

“Prometheus?”

He slowly pushed open the door and she, unfortunately, couldn’t get a good view of the immortal, since she was the last one inside.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you know how to knock?” 

The voice sounded irritated and Hera shared a look with Demeter, who shrugged. 

“I did, but I had a feeling that you wouldn’t have heard,” Zelus said. “You can finish building that later, there’s something more important than that.”

The boy grumbled under his breath and still, Hera didn’t get a glimpse of him, as everybody stumbled back to give him room to enter. She was getting a little irritated and she tugged at Poseidon’s arm.

“What is so important- who are they?”

“The children of Rhea and Cronus, we freed them earlier today,” Zelus said. “They need to learn their abilities.”

“You couldn’t notify me? I’m busy and not at all ready for company, let alone training.” 

“Bia thinks we should start training immediately-”

  
  
“No, I won’t-”

“And why not?”

Hera had pushed Poseidon out the way, tired of waiting to see what this Prometheus looked like. Poseidon yelped and shuffled out the way as Hera got a good look at him. 

His hair was a halo of long, brownish-red curls that framed his brown skin. His brown eyes went wide at the sight of her. 

“Huh?”

  
  
“Why not,” Hera repeated. “You said that you wouldn’t train us and I want to know why.”

He stared at her as if she grew a second head, and Hera wondered if he even really had a reason, to begin with. Zelus let out a laugh that seemed to snap Prometheus from his daze. Prometheus turned to glare at the winged boy, who threw his hands up in surrounder, biting his lip to contain his laughter. 

  
  


“I’m too busy to help,” Prometheus started.

“Oh, so you like being under Cronus’s reign for all of eternity?” Demeter cut in. “Have we been deceived about how awful it is to live under it? If so, Zelus take us back to Gaea’s Garden, I take the pretty prison over fighting for a new era nobody wants.”

She then turned to her siblings. “Problem solved.”

Demeter started to walk away with everybody staring at her in shock before Prometheus spoke up again.

“Wait, no, that’s not what I meant.” Prometheus stuttered. “I- okay wait, let me put up my stuff and meet you guys outside in the back.”

He went back to the room he was in and Zelus led them to the back.

“That was very impressive Demeter, thanks.” He said.

She shrugged. “I want to go back to the Garden as soon as possible, I didn’t feel like going back and forth with him.”

“What was that all about anyway?” Poseidon asked. “Why was he staring at Hera like that?”

Zelus started to laugh but it died when he noticed how serious they look. He shook his head, a smile wide on his face.

“Don’t worry, you’ll look back on this and realize,” Zelus said. “Right now Eros seems to want to keep you oblivious for a while.”

“Eros?”

Zelus opened his mouth to explain but the door opened and Hera turned her head to see Prometheus making their way to them. His hair was now pulled into a bun and he looked at each of them. 

“Okay, let’s get started.”


	5. Chapter 5

**_Waves_ **

“Since none of you had the pleasure of taking the time to find out your powers. We’ll be doing the fast version of it all.” Prometheus said.

“And what’s the fast version?” Demeter asked.

“There are three sets of tests that would give me a general understanding of your powers,” Prometheus said. “Elemental, Mental, and Psychical.”

He held up three fingers as he paced in front of them.

“With Zeus able to control the weather, it’s safe to start with the elemental tests.”

“First up, fire.”

Prometheus held up his hand and snapped his fingers, creating a flame that danced on his palm.

“Whoa,” Hera said. 

Poseidon admitted to himself that it was pretty cool how easy Prometheus conjured the flames. He wonders if Hestia would be able to do something so easily under the guidance of that Helios guy.

“What are we supposed to do with that?” Demeter asked. 

Prometheus smiled at her. “Touch it.”

Poseidon bit his lip, stopping the laugh that threatened to bubble over at Demeter’s expression. Her eyebrows knitted together as she jerked back her head and tilted it to the side. Her frown seemed to deepen at his words.

“Why?”

“Because only a fire or sun god would be able to withstand the heat of it,” Prometheus said, taking a step forward. “Stick your hand into it, or if you’re scared, just a finger.”

Demeter snorted but the way her lips almost disappeared into a thin line, let Poseidon know that she didn’t like the fact that Prometheus was implying that she was a coward. He remembered the arguments they would have in Cronus’s stomach and wondered if these were the faces that she made. 

She stuck out her hand and shoved it into the fire, to the surprise of everybody. Even Prometheus stared at her with wide eyes.

“I didn’t think you would actually do it,” Prometheus said, in disbelief. 

“Are you serious?” Demeter hissed, jerking her hand back. 

Poseidon moved to Demeter’s side as she cradled her hand, to get a better look at it. Her hand started to turn red, the light patch on the back of her hand was darkened though, and it was a little pattern of darker and lighter patches that began to cover her hand. 

“Uh, well I guess that scratches out, you’re being able to control fire,” Hera said, her eyes wide.

Demeter turned and glared at Hera, who threw up her hands.

“I’m not the one who thrust her hand in the fire!” Hera said. “If anything you should be mad at yourself.”

“Shut up, Hera,” Demeter grumbled. 

“Um, so, you only have to put a  _ finger  _ into the fire,” Prometheus emphasized. “If you feel pain, that means that you can’t control anything hot.”

Hera went after Demeter, sticking only fire in before immediately yanking it back. Her eyes watered before she shook her head.

“That’s a no for me too.”   
  


Poseidon went next, only putting a finger in as well. Just like his sisters, he felt pain and pulled his hand away. It seemed that only Hestia had the ability to control fire. 

Prometheus closed his hand into a fist, and the fire disappeared.’

“Alright moving along,” Prometheus said. “First we need to get your hand healed before progressing.”

“Oh really?” Demeter said, sarcastically. “I thought you were going to be rude enough to let me go around with a burnt hand.”

Prometheus blushed. “I mean I  _ could-” _

Poseidon frowned, opened his mouth to say something but Demeter beat him to it when she took a menacing step forward to Prometheus. The other boy threw up his hands in defense.

“I’m joking! Dear Gaea, the Titans are really going to have their hands full with you.”

Zelus chuckled behind them, and Poseidon had to resist the urge to jump. He had forgotten that the winged boy was there at all, he was really quiet to be the outgoing one in the trio. Prometheus led them back to the house, where he healed Demeter’s hand the best he could. 

“I’m not a healing god, but this should do until you do have one to help you,” Prometheus said. 

“Fine,” Demeter grumbled. “The next elemental test?”

“Air,” Prometheus said.

“This is where I come in,” Zelus said, he grinned and his wings unfurled from his back.

Poseidon eyed him warily and then back at Prometheus who was smiling at them apologetically.

“We all had to go through it.” Prometheus shrugged. “Zelus here is going to take you up in the sky and drop you, if you’re anything like Zeus, you’ll be able to slow yourself down. . .if not, Zelus will be quick to catch you.”

“Please tell me this is also a joke,” Demeter said rubbing her brow.

“Nope, who’s going first?” Zelus said. 

“I am, just to get this over with,” Demeter said. “This is absolutely ridiculous.”

Zelus shrugged and placed his hands out Demeter’s hips. “Ready?”

Poseidon didn’t know why but Demeter’s cheeks turned red as she glared at Zelus before she wrapped her arms around his neck. He definitely didn’t know why he didn’t like the way that Zelus smiled at her.

“Hold on tight,” Zelus said.

That was the only warning they had as Zelus flew up into the air. Poseidon felt his stomach turn when he saw how high Zelus was going to be dropping them. He couldn’t even see when Zelus did but one minute, Demeter was Zelus’s arms, and then the next, she was hurtling down back to earth. And she didn’t look like she was slowing down  _ at all _ . There was a sense of panic that settled over Poseidon but it was eased as Zelus came swooping in and flew Demeter the rest of the way down. 

When Zelus touched down, he was holding Demeter horizontally and she had her face in his neck. 

“Are we down, yet? And don’t lie to me.” Demeter said.

“Yeah, you’re down promise.” 

Demeter risked a look, and a look of relief covered her, not that Poseidon could blame her. She hesitantly placed a foot to the ground, still clinging to Zelus and then another. The winged boy didn’t let go until Demeter could confidently walk on her own. She didn’t go far as she slowly settled herself on the ground and then continued to lay down. 

“Give me a minute, I’m still feeling nauseous,” Demeter muttered as she closed her eyes.

Zelus turned to Poseidon and he didn’t like the mischief on his face. He wrapped an arm around Poseidon’s waist and they shot up into the air. 

“Hey!” Poseidon exclaimed. “You didn’t warn me like you did Demeter!”

“You seemed like the type that would come up with a hundred excuses.” Zelus shrugged. “Good luck!”

And then, just like that, Zelus dropped him. 

The sound of dropping flooded Poseidon’s ears and his stomach felt like it got left with Zelus. His eyes watered at the force and speed of the wind in his face and he flailed around trying to slow down his fall. Nothing seemed to work, and Poseidon felt dread about the ending result even though the small rational part of his brain told him that Zelus would be there to catch them. Still, Poseidon was going to accept his fate of flattening when he felt a lurch. He let out a gasp and looked up to see that Zelus had caught him around the stomach. 

The moment Poseidon’s feet touched the ground, he wiggled himself free of Zelus’s hold and threw up in Prometheus’s brushes. 

“Should’ve expected that.” Prometheus grimaced. “Well, Hera, you’re up.”

Poseidon lifted his head up, long enough to see that unlike him and Demeter, Hera didn’t look scared in the slightest. Instead, she looked almost  _ excited  _ about this test.  _ How  _ could she be, Poseidon wouldn’t understand. Zelus smiled down at Hera, picked her up, and flew up into the sky. Poseidon walked over to Demeter and sat beside her, she had sat up at this point and was staring at the sky. 

When Zelus dropped Hera, something happened that didn’t happen with Demeter and Poseidon. Just for a second, Hera slowed down by a fraction. This caused Poseidon to turn to Demeter, who to him and shock, and they both quickly looked back up at the sky. Hera started to free-falling faster but then just like before, she started to slow down for a fraction. Zelus was there ready to catch her, and it looked like Hera didn’t even need it until finally the pattern stopped and Hera was hurtling fast out of the sky. When Zelus went to go get her, something weird happened or rather Hera did something weird. She went to grab Zelus and missed, and continued to fall, Zelus attempted to grab her again but this time, she grabbed his wrist and she twisted around him and saddled his back Zelus flipped her off. Poseidon felt his heart in his throat as Zelus seemed to be scrambling to receive Hera. There was a flurry of movement happening, going too fast for Poseidon to see. Then they came crashing onto the ground. Poseidon expected screaming but instead, all he heard were laughter. 

Hera and Zelus laid by each other on opposite sides and were laughing up a storm. Finally, Hera lifted up from her spot and pushed her hair out of her face. 

“That was so fun!” Hera said.

“You’re  _ insane!”  _ Zelus crackled. “I had no idea what you were doing!”

“We should do it again!”

“Oh yeah totally!”

Poseidon stared at the two as if they lost their minds, which probably happened during that fall. Hera had jumped up, along with Zelus, and was already getting on the winged boy’s back.

“Wait, we have other trials to do-” Prometheus started. 

The words died on his lips when Hera looked over Zelus’s shoulder, her eyes grew in size and she puckered out her lip that even Poseidon would have to say a hard time saying no to.

“Oh please, just one more time.” She said. 

Prometheus blushed and crossed his arms, looking away. “Fine, one more and then we need to move on.” 

Zelus and Hera cheered, and the boy shot up into the sky. 

“Okay, what does that mean?” Demeter asked. “She didn’t completely slow herself for long and it was like it spurts. Was Zeus like that?”

Prometheus shook his head. “No, he was able to completely slow himself down. It’s not her primary power, and not a secondary but it can definitely be approved upon if she so wishes to.”

Poseidon looked up at the sky, and could only see the whirlwind of Hera and Zelus’s hair, blond and brown covering their owners. 

“Seeing how much fun she’s having, she probably will.” Poseidon shrugged. 

“Oh great,” Demeter muttered. 

By the time Zelus and Hera collapsed back onto the ground, the do that Rhea had put her hair in was gone. Hera’s hair once again, reaching her feet. 

“Okay, what’s the next test?” Hera asked as she pushed her hair out of her face.

“Water,” Prometheus said. “This one is a little more tricky because all immortals can breathe, see, and move around in the water. What we’re looking for is are you able to create water movements other than the ones around you, can you communicate with sea creatures, etc. You guys ready?”

“Of course!” Hera said, and she turned to her siblings. “Are you?”

Poseidon nodded and turned to Demeter, who still looked a little sick. She shrugged and pushed herself up, she swayed slightly and Poseidon hesitated unsure if Demeter would mind the help to steady herself. 

“Sounds the easiest,” Demeter said. “Let’s go.”

They followed after Prometheus, and with Zelus helping to do Hera’s hair so nobody would step on it, Poseidon walked in step with Demeter.

“How are you hanging in there?” Poseidon asked. 

She winced but tried to shrug it off. “Fine, kinda glad that I’m not efficient in the air element because I do not like my feet off the ground.”

“Me neither, well at least Hera had fun.” 

Demeter looked over her shoulder, and Poseidon did the same to see that Hera had climbed on the back of Zelus, and they were talking up a storm. Poseidon smiled at this glad that Hera was branching outside of just them and hoped that Hades was doing the same. He would never voice it out loud, not wanting to upset his siblings, but he always feared that Hades and Hera would be loners if it weren’t for them. Not that there was anything wrong with it but Poseidon would like to see his siblings with lots of friends and happy. 

The walk to the next trial was very long and Poseidon wondered where they were going for it. The journey was making him anxious though, especially when Prometheus would stop and hide and doubletrack back, and how Zelus would hush them at certain times. It definitely didn’t take a genius to realize that they were on enemy lands. 

With all the effort of just going to the next trial, Poseidon hoped that it was worth it. He really hoped that one of them would be efficient with water. 

They were walking through the woods when Prometheus abruptly stopped. Demeter hadn’t been paying attention, something had caught her eyesight and she nearly ran into Prometheus if it wasn’t for Poseidon that saw a disaster waiting to happen. She stumbled back and hit Poseidon’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around her as Prometheus turned to him. 

“Over there is the ocean, and where we need to go,” Prometheus said. “It’s also the territory of Oceanus, which means that Cronus can’t come in.”

Poseidon nodded relieved that the next test was in safe territory.

“I hear a but,” Demeter said.

Prometheus nodded as he peaked out and then back at them. “The entrance to Oceanus’ is heavily guarded, anybody caught trying to escape are severely punished.”

“We’ll be more than punished,” Poseidon muttered. 

Prometheus nodded. “We’ll need a distraction or something to be able to get in.”

“I got this.” 

Poseidon turned his head to see that Zelus was already getting Hera off of his back so that he could unfurl his wings, a smirk on his lips.

“Those guards will never be able to catch me.” He said. “Me and my siblings are one of the fastest flyers alive. Just wait till I give you an opening to run towards okay?”

Everybody nodded and before he could take off, Hera caught his arm and gave him a tight hug.

“Be careful.” She said.

Zelus smiled at Hera almost fondly. “I’ll be back, don't worry Princess.”

Then with one strong flap of his wings, he soared up to the sky. Poseidon wished to see what Zelus was doing to distract the guards but Prometheus had them well hidden. The Titan peaked his head out of the bushes to see if it was safe enough for them to escape into the ocean. 

In the distance, Poseidon could hear Zelus’s laughter as he taunted and teased the guards, the conflict slowly fading out.

“Let’s go! Run!”

Prometheus had quickly ushered them out of their hiding spot before taking off to the water. They followed behind them as quickly as they could, not used to using his legs this way, Poseidon still pushed forward. The wind rushed into his ears and made his eyes tear up and above all else, his legs burned from pushing them so hard but the goal was the only thing urging him on. He pushed himself until he felt something cool and wet touch the bottom of his feet and then something strange happened. The sun resting on the ocean in the horizon disappeared and was placed with a bright white glow that didn’t harm his eyes.

Instead, he blinked and found the sun and the horizon gone and he was underneath the waves. Demeter, Hera, and Prometheus all stared at him with wide eyes. 

“Holy shit-” Prometheus exclaimed. “You just-”

“Does that mean that Poseidon is waterboy?” Demeter asked.

“That was amazing!” Hera said, she lunged at him. 

Poseidon was quick to catch her and he stumbled back. 

“What happened? What did I do?”

“You’re shitting me,” Prometheus said. “You don’t remember what you did?”

“I couldn’t see anything!” He protested. “Could somebody tell me what happened?”

The trio exchanged looks before Prometheus explained that Poseidon’s eyes had turned white and sped their process into the ocean. 

“In fact, you took us directly to Oceanus’s castle.” 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm back ;)

**_Power_ **

“So what’s the deal with Oceanus?” Demeter asked. 

The four of them traveled through the ocean as sea animals seemed to pause around Poseidon. He seemed lost at the attention and at times, Demeter would see him open his mouth but close it as the animals would swim away from him. She remembered what Prometheus talked about all the benefits of being a water God. She left it alone for later and focused on the walk instead. 

“Oceanus is the most powerful Titan of Mother Gaea and Father Uranus,” Prometheus started. “And would’ve been Gaea’s ideal choice to handle Uranus if the two weren’t so close. It’s said that there was a miscommunication: Uranus thought with the sickle that he was to kill his father but what Gaea wanted him to do was to find his siblings the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclops. With his decline, she turned to her youngest, Cronus, who was eager to prove himself. He failed to listen to his mother’s instructions and killed Uranus. And with the divinity of law, that made Cronus King. He went back on his word of freeing his brothers and exchanged Gaea cursed him for his disobedience and power-hungry ways.”

For once, Demeter was at a loss of words and thoughts. It was interesting, to say the least, to hear the history of a time before her. 

“And what was the curse?” Hera asked. 

“ _You shall rue the day that you betrayed your mother, you shall feel a pain unlike another, as you share the same fate as your father, your death shall arrive at the hands of your child.”_

Prometheus sounded eerily calm, almost otherworldly that it sent chills down Demeter’s spine. The words killed any questions that she or her siblings had as they traveled deeper into Oceanus’s castle. The prophecy made Demeter think back to what Theia had said earlier and yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel sorry for snapping at her mother. If there was a prophecy that even foretold that Cronus would fall at the hands of his child, why did she even risk having them? Why, when she was pregnant every time, didn’t she escape and birth each of them secretly, found ways to keep them all safe so they could grow and destroy their father. What about Zeus and the day that he was born, was the breaking point of Rhea?

She slipped deeper in her thoughts the longer that they walked until finally, Prometheus said:

“We’re here.” 

Demeter’s eyes went wide at the sight of the castle, and before she could look at it more closely to appreciate it, the door of it opened up. A titan appearing at the threshold and without a word from Prometheus, Demeter knew that they were staring at Oceanus. 

The first thing that Demeter noticed was his ears, they were something similar to a fish that swam around them. His hair was a wavy mass of dark blue tresses that stopped at his mid-back. The top half of his body was muscular but wasn’t overly so, but just enough for them to be noticeable. The bottom half of his body was a scaly teal-blue tail. 

“My subjects said that there is a being as powerful as me, I had to see for myself,” Oceanus spoke. 

Despite his majestic appearance, his voice was quiet, soft but still demanding that all eyes were on him. His eyes seemed to shift with the color of the ocean as he looked between them. 

“You,” He pointed at a wide-eyed Poseidon. “What is your name, son of Cronus?”

“Poseidon,” He said, a little daze.

“You hear them, don’t you? The conversations of my people?”

Poseidon nodded.

“And you feel the power of the waves speak to you, yes?”

He nodded again. Then, his eyes turned the same glowing white when he had transferred them into the ocean. Demeter noticed that Oceanus’s eyes were doing the same. She couldn’t help but be completely in awe as the two made their way to each other. The water churned around them moving fast, creating a vortex that covered them. It was hard to see through it but it seemed as if Poseidon was floating up but Oceanus remained where he was. 

The vortex slowly settled, leaving a clear vision of Poseidon and Oceanus. Demeter was startled to find that Poseidon looked more like Oceanus than them. His ears were now shaped similar to Oceanus, his legs replaced with a dark blue scaly tail, and his chest bare. He wasn’t muscular as Oceanus, in fact, he was scrawny. Still, Poseidon seemed very delighted in this new form that he was in, swimming around getting used to his tail. 

Demeter rubbed her brow, just time before, Poseidon was learning to walk and now he had to learn how to swim with a tail too? 

Oceanus must have noticed the confusion on Demeter and Hera’s face because he began to speak. 

“Every Sea God has a sea nymph form, and while I did not have the luxury of giving him a formal ceremony, this one would be sufficient enough.” 

Another element that neither she nor Hera had but there was still one element to try with and Demeter had hope for it. 

“I sense that there’s more than Poseidon can do, so I will be leaving him in your care Prometheus until his other powers are figured out.” Oceanus continued. “But before you’re off on your way. . .where is their winged companion, Zelus?”

“Here!” 

Demeter turned her head to see Zelus landing and looked back in time to see an amused smile on Oceanus's face before it faded back to his neutral stare. 

“You three still have one more trial for the day, and I’m sure that _you_ will be happy about it.”

He looked at Demeter pointedly and Demeter tilted her head in confusion at this. Did Oceanus know what powers they had? If so, why not tell them instead of forcing them to go through all of this? They could already be doing individual training! 

“And me?” Hera asked. 

She must have noticed the look that Oceanus sent to Demeter but not to her. The titan turned to her and much to Hera’s credit, she didn’t flinch away and stared into his ever-changing color eyes. He sighed and looked away, rubbing his brow, showing the second hint of emotion since they’ve been there.

“You are a special case,” He relented. “But that’s all that I will say about that. Come, I will give you a quicker passageway back to Prometheus’s home.”

He beckoned them to follow and just like that nobody pressed for any more information. There were so many things to do and process that Demeter didn’t bother contesting anything that the older deity said. Though, she really did want to. 

As they moved deeper into Oceanus’ castles more beings other than fish. Similar creatures like Oceanus, and now Poseidon, peaked out, whispering as they passed. Demeter ignored them, keeping her head high and focusing more closely on the leader.

Oceanus seemed so calm and indifferent about everything. She couldn’t imagine him young, close to his father, and refusing his mother. He reminded her of Hades, out of sight, out of mind. Quiet, silent, moving, and working in the shadows. Would he have been a better ruler than Cronus? 

Oceanus led them to a room where a woman sat, though she did not seem surprised by their appearance. Perhaps, when the fish went to talk to Oceanus, he was in this very room with her. She was a lovely goddess, also in her sea nymph appearance. She had wavy reddish-brown hair, gray-green eyes, like Poseidon and Hera, which seemed to be covered with freckles. 

“This is my wife Tethys,” Oceanus said. 

“It’s nice to meet you three,” Tethys said. 

She smiled at them and it was unlike the way Theia or Rhea smiled, closed mouth, She smiled widely and left the impression that she was less reserved than her sisters. Tethys swam towards them to get a closer look at them before placing a hand under Poseidon’s chin. She lifted his head and narrowed her eyes as she looked him over.

“You’re Poseidon, right?” She asked. 

Poseidon nodded, or tried to, with his chin still being held in Tethys’ hand. “Yes.”

Tethys looked pleased with this before she turned her attention to Demeter. 

“And you have to be Demeter,” Tethys said, before turning to Hera, squinting. “And. . .Hestia?”

Hera flushed and shook her head. “Hera.”

“My apologies,” Tethys said, smiling sheepishly. “I was doing so good, too. The way Rhea described each of you was so long ago.”

Demeter couldn’t help but bristle at her mother’s name. What good would any of that do if she didn’t attempt to save them? Being sentimental didn’t ignore the fact that she didn’t _try_. 

If Tethys noticed the reaction Rhea’s name did to the siblings, she ignored it as she released her hold on Poseidon.

“Are they staying for dinner?”

Oceanus shook his head. “No, they are still learning what their powers are.”

“Well, then maybe next time.” 

Her smile softened and despite being suspicious of all beings that weren’t her siblings, Demeter found herself smiling back, small of course. The moment disparate when Oceanus cleared his throat. Demeter blinked and looked over to him as he went over to the wall. Demeter watched closely as Oceanus closed his eyes and pressed his hand against it. Slowly but amazingly, the walls fell apart into a wide portal that led to another room. Stun by this, the only ones to move were Zelus and Prometheus.

“It’s okay, it’s leading back to my house,” Prometheus said. 

Poseidon swam forward with Hera right behind, and Demeter after them, just have to trust them. They all stepped into the portal and the moment they were on the other side, it closed back up before anybody could say goodbye. 

Poseidon made a noise and quickly followed by him collapsing to the ground and his tail and ears vanished back to normalcy. The _chiton_ that he came with was gone. He turned around and pat at his legs, in utter amazement. 

“Oh, it feels weird to have legs again,” Poseidon said. “And my _chiton_ is gone, Prometheus do you have an extra?” 

Zelus and Prometheus helped Poseidon up and took him into Prometheus’s room where he stumbled around even with their help.

“Does he have to learn how to walk again?” Hera asked. “That took so long when Rhea and Theia taught us.”

“I hope he doesn’t,” Demeter muttered. “We still have to figure out what our powers are.”

“Well the only thing left is earth,” Hera said, pulling at her fingers. “Oceanus hinted that this would be your domain.”

Demeter nodded an underlying excitement thrumming through her veins. It took her a minute to realize that Hera didn’t sound very enthusiastic about it. She turned to her younger sister, who was staring at her hands. She also remembered in that conversation that Oceanus was clear that Hera would not have powers with the earth either. 

“Hey, there’s like two other tests after the Elemental one and you might thrive in those ways better than we would,” Demeter said. “Being attached to one Element probably won’t be all that it’s played out to be. The enemy separates you from your source of power, then you’ll become useless. But if it’s something within you, they have to try very hard to break you.”

Hera looked up at Demeter, sadness still in her eyes but Demeter could tell she appreciated the words of encouragement. Demeter threw her arm around Hera’s shoulders and pulled her close to hug her. They linger in the embrace until they hear the bedroom door open and close, and the boys’ voices. Hera had pulled away first, tucking a stray of hair behind her ear, as Demeter turned to the direction of the boys with her arms folded. 

“Took you three long enough, can we get to the finale element test?”

“We were only gone for like, five minutes!” Prometheus protested.

“And they were being weird,” Poseidon said. “They didn’t want to show me how to tie this thing on!”

He pulled at the ends of the chiton and both Zelus and Prometheus complained loudly that he wouldn’t stop moving.

“I’m dealing with children,” Demeter said, throwing up her hands. “Can’t we just jump right into the next test?”

With lingering tales of what happened in the bedroom, Prometheus led them back outside, into the woods. He took them a different path where there was a meadow in open space, sunlight shining through lighting it up too bright for Demeter’s eyes.

Still, as she shielded the sun out of her face, she felt a thrum of power that hummed around her. The tingles that she had been feeling since they were at Gaia’s seemed to go stronger within her. 

Prometheus was talking, explaining how the test would go but Demeter was so overwhelmed by the feeling, she didn’t hear a word. Instead, seemingly against her own will, she walked to the center of the meadow. Each step she took felt as if the grass rose to meet her feet but how could that make any sense? It was the whispers in her ears that made her kneel on the ground, her hands pressed into the dirt. Her face flushing as a heat of power swept over her. 

_Let the earth speak through you child._

The voice sounded motherly, warm. A sense of calm washed over her as she closed her eyes and let herself _be._

Behind her, Hera let out a gasp and she swore she could hear Poseidon whisper the word “ _beautiful”._ She felt something warm and firm wrap around her wrists, trailing up her arms but instead of feeling panic, she felt at ease. She felt like she should be exactly where she was. 

It was here that Demeter realized that all that she could see was bright colors, specifically yellows, and greens. She turned, the colors morphing into purples and pinks, a spiral of orange and dots of red filled her eyesight. Confusion settled over her as she looked over her shoulder, to look at her companions and immediately closed them when colors of Green, Red, Gold, and Brown sheared themselves into her brain. 

Her concentration was snapped, and the feeling melted away, almost reluctantly like it didn’t want to leave her. A shaky breath escaped her as she bowed into herself as she tried to process what just happened. Hesitatingly, she opened her eyes again and gasped at the sight before her. 

What was just grass when they arrived, now had flowers and vines, and fruits and vegetables that littered the meadow. Demeter looked down and saw that the very vines and roots that kept these connected to the ground had curled themselves around them as if she was Earth itself.

She turned back behind her to where those colors burned so bright, only for them to be replaced with her siblings, Zelus and Prometheus. 

Everybody stared at her stun and when it became clear that they were still in awe with what just happened, Demeter squirmed under their gaze. She leaned back, placing her weight off her knees and onto her heels as she stared back at them.

“Well?” Demeter demanded, her cheeks still flushed.

“That-” Prometheus started. “That is how you can tell who is an Earth Deity.”


End file.
